New Restaurants Coming Soon!!!

This spring/summer it seems like there is an avalanche of new restaurants coming to Buffalo. A lot of these restaurants are still in the beginning stages so it’s hard to tell exactly when we’ll be able to try them out. Regardless, it’s still exciting to read about new things coming to Buffalo, sometimes even if it’s a chain. So we sat down and tried to figure out all of the new places that are setting up shop so you could create your own “to do list”. Some of these places have a lot of information online while others are complete guesses to us (does anyone know what’s up with Organic 3 Cafe…).

Take a look at what we could find, if we’re missing anything please comment below and we’ll update this list.

Here’s a list of new restaurants that you should keep an eye out for…

NEW LOCATIONS FOR EXISTING RESTAURANTS:

Sole – Technically this isn’t a “new” restaurant but this Williamsville restaurant is opening a second location in Elmwood Village in the old Juniper location. When Juniper closed their doors I was pretty sad, I never got a chance to try the place myself and had read good things about what Kate Elliot was making there. However, I’m very excited about Sole moving closer to my house, their menu of various Latin American dishes will be a welcome addition to the Elmwood Village. It’s not exactly a cheap meal (assuming their menu stays the same) but you can go with a couple of friends and try a bunch of things off their Tapas menu and you’ll be able to eat a lot without going broke. EDIT: Sole is actually closing their Williamsville location and moving to Elmwood. [news source: Buffalo Rising]

Organic 3 Cafe – My friend Jay kept talking about an Organic Cafe that was opening on Elmwood and I initially had no idea what he was talking about. After doing some google searching I realized that Organic 3 Cafe is a Cafe located in Snyder and they’re suppose to be opening another location on Elmwood. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been anything new posted (at least from my google searches) about the place. Apparently, it was going to open in September of 2010, but that was almost 6 months ago. If anyone knows whats going on please leave a comment below. Edit: They are continuing to renovate their building, should be opening in the next few months (Thanks Christa!) [news source:Buffalo Rising]

NEW RESTAURANTS:

Bambino – Moving into the building that formerly was home to Duo and Brownstone Bistro, Bambino is going to be a casual fine dining restaurant with an affordable menu that hopes to also bring in some of the Chippewa nightlife (sound familiar? I’m looking at you Encore). You’ll be able to find wood fired pizza’s, cured meats and other Italian dishes. Hopefully Noel Morreale (owner of Fiamma Steak) will have better luck in this location that’s hosted 2 different restaurants in the last 6 years. [news source:Buffalo Rising]

Cantina Loco – I absolutely love Sea Bar, so I got pretty excited when I read that chef Mike Andrzejewski is going to be opening a restaurant that will be featuring his take on Mexican street food. The fact that this building is literally less than a block form my house doesn’t hurt either. It will be in the former home of Steel Crazy, on the corner of Allen and Elmwood. Hopefully, they’ll be open late because a 2am pork taco sounds like a great idea. Mike is hoping to open by July. [news source:Hungry For More]

Nadia’s Taste of Soul – When Falafel Bar closed their Allentown location, I was more upset about the loss of convenience rather than the food itself. But after being empty for only a couple months, the empty location will now host a Nadia’s Taste of Soul with award winning chef Guy Lane in the kitchen. On the menu you’ll find soul food classics likes Ribs, Collard Greens, Mac and cheese along with some Caribbean and Spanish dishes. They were suppose to open last week but the black tarp is still on the windows; I’m hoping their doors will open soon. [news sources:Buffalo.com, Buffalo Rising]

Code Blu Juice Bar – On Allen in the newly renovated Fairmount building, there has been a sign for “Code Blue Juice Bar” for several months now. Aside from news about a permit being placed in October 2010, I have no information about this place. They have recently put paper over the windows, but it didn’t look like a lot of construction was going on inside. I’m really hoping this place works out because I’ve been dying to try Liquid Energy downtown but I never have time to get down there during the day. [news sources:Buffalo.com, Buffalo Rising]

Vera Pizzeria – As I learned from Alan “Buffalo Pundit” Bedenko’s comments on our Romeo and Juliet Food Porn, you can’t get a true Neapolitan pizza in Buffalo. Almost a month after that comment word came out that a new pizza place was coming to the city, specializing in brick oven pizza’s and some other Italian appetizers and entrees. It will be located on Lexington, a street that isn’t immediately obvious to people passing by but should become more popular with The Place and Kuni’s already calling it home. I’m very excited to try this place out. [news source:Buffalo Rising]

Soho Burger Bar – When I read that Soho, one of Chippewa’s most successful night clubs (maybe the most successful), was going to close their doors for a couple months to turn into a restaurant, I was shocked. In an area where turnover is incredibly high, I thought the owners of Soho had figured it out. Well, apparently these guys now have families and want to own a place their kids can go. The owners are working with Johnny’s Meat Market to create some unique and gourmet burgers. I’m not exactly in a rush to visit Chippewa but if I can get a gourmet burger, that’s hopefully reasonably priced, I’m there! Should be opening in June/July.[news sources:WGRZ, Buffalo Rising]

Atmosphere @ 62 – One of our first Food Porn’s was a trip to Fiddleheads, an eclectic restaurant that was on the corner of Franklin and Allen. I really liked the location itself but the food was not really memorable. After a failed attempt at changing their menu to breakfast and lunch only, Fiddleheads left and a couple of months later Atmosphere @ 62 announced their arrival. Their menu should reflect some fine dining options of Lobster Ravioli’s, Fried Mac and Cheese and Steak tartar. They are also hoping to have a good late night crowds, check out their Facebook page for more info! They should be opening any day now. [news sources:Facebook, Buffalo Rising]

Rocco’s Wood Fired Pizza – I can’t find anything about this restaurant, the only reason I know it exists is because of a Buffalo Chow tweet. Located on Transit Road in Williamsville (something outside of the city!), this restaurant is apparently opening in roughly 2 weeks. Edit: See Elizabeth’s comments below, plus I found out this family also owns Oliver’s and 800 Maple (Thanks again Christa), so these people know what they’re doing when it comes to good restaurants.

NEW CHAIN RESTAURANTS:

Joe’s Crab Shack – I’ve never been to a Joe’s Crab Shack, but I’ve seen their commercials on TV for what seems like forever. Even though there are plenty of good seafood restaurants in Buffalo that I still haven’t gone to, I’m curious to see how good/cheap this place is. They’ll be moving into the old Uno’s that’s located near UB’s North Campus on Maple Road. [news source: Buffalo News]

Five Guys Burgers – Back in December of 2009, Buffalo Chow wrote that Five Guys had emailed them with great news: Buffalo would get their first Five Guys in Summer of 2010! Well it’s been a year and a half since that article and there wasn’t any new information about the chain. That was until this month. A newly created Facebook Page called “Five Guys Buffalo” posted the following status on April 18th: “Hello Buffalo, NY. Five Guys will be invading the Buffalo area very soon. We will announce our first Buffalo location by the end of next week.” In their “info” they have listed their location with a 14221 zip code, a quick google search reveals that zip code belongs to Williamsville. Could that be their first location? They’re also saying their goal is to open 3 locations in Buffalo in 2011, I’m hoping this really happens. Normally, I don’t praise chain restaurants but the two trips to Rochester’s Five Guys locations have been wonderful. [news sources: Buffalo Chow, Facebook]

Donnie Burtless is the founder of BuffaloEats.org. He also co-hosts two podcasts: Grain of Salt and The Burtlist. He's judged over 30 different food contests around Western New York and has written for Buffalo Spree, The Public and Visit Buffalo Niagara.

Thank you for your interest in Rocco’s Wood Fired Pizza… We will be opening in June. The restaurant will feature wood oven pizzas, salads, sandwiches, appetizers/sides and daily chalkboard specials… pasta, simple fish, chicken etc… A nice warm atmosphere with a old world neighborhood feel… We will offer dine-in, take out and delivery in the early fall…Rocco’s has a great bar, dinning room and fun lounge… Rocco’s is for everyone looking for great food at a very reasonable price with a warm atmosphere and friendly staff… We are local… You may know us from Siena, 800 Maple or Oliver’s… We welcome everyone to please come and visit us at Rocco’s THANK YOU BUFFALO … FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE PAST 25 PLUS YEARS… We look forward to seeing you all soon… Chuck, John and Henry